1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to containers. More specifically, the invention relates to a shipping and display container for bottles and other fragile articles.
2. Prior Art
There are a variety of packaging containers currently in use for shipping bottles, ampoules, computer chips and other articles of a fragile nature. These containers must be capable of protecting the articles during shipping and handling, and should also be simple and economical in construction and use.
For economy of packaging, the containers are often constructed to hold a plurality of the articles, and for protection, the articles are preferably individually held in spaced apart relationship to one another in the package. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,752,605, 5,494,166, 5,361,907, 4,450,965, 4,341,308 and 4,173,286, and U.K. Patents 393,630 and 701,212, published Jul. 6, 1933, and Dec. 23, 1953, respectively, are exemplary of prior art containers of this type. Many of these prior art containers are made of cardboard or similar material, and some are formed from a single blank of material. See, e.g., U.K. Patent 701,212. Other containers comprise a folded insert received in an outer housing or box. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,308 and U.K. Patent 393,630.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,286 discloses a packaging container for shipping cans, and includes mating half sections each formed with recessed areas for receiving respective half-sections of the cans. The container in this patent is made of a cellular resin such as styrofoam or polyurethane, and the two half sections are secured together by pressure sensitive tape.
In spite of the existence of a large variety of prior art shipping containers, only boxes and inserts using full shell molded EPS have been certified for use by United Parcel Service (UPS) and other shipping carriers. Applicant is not aware of any prior art corrugated boxes and inserts and/or dividers, or molded pulp containers, that have been successful in obtaining certification.
Accordingly, there is need for a box and insert packaging container that is capable of withstanding the shipping hazards encountered when articles are shipped via UPS and other shipping carriers.
The present invention is a shipping and display container for bottles or other frangible articles, in which mating half sections of cardboard or other material have recessed portions defining supports for nesting and supporting the articles along three spatial axes when two half sections are placed together from opposite sides of the articles to enclose them. In a preferred embodiment, the assembled half sections are placed in a box for shipment. The resulting container is capable of withstanding the shipping hazards encountered when articles are shipped via UPS and other shipping carriers.
Each insert half section forming a part of the container of the invention is also capable of functioning independently as a display container for the articles.
Each half section is formed from a single blank of material, such as corrugated cardboard, folded to form support structures that suspend and support the article along three axes, and can be constructed so that it is self-locking when it is folded into an erected condition, or certain panels can be glued to retain the half section in an erected condition. Strength and torsional rigidity of the half section are improved by gluing certain panels together. Gluing can be accomplished by the package manufacturer to insure that improved strength and torsional rigidity are obtained and to facilitate and reduce the labor of packing.
The container of the invention may be shipped in either flat or partially erected condition, even with some panels glued to other panels, and is suitable for use with bottles or other articles. For instance, in some cases dissimilar articles may be shipped and displayed in the container, in which case, the half sections may also be dissimilar. The pre-glued or flat form can be adapted for full automatic machine erection into a condition ready to accept the articles.
Multiple sets of half section pairs may be assembled, with each set or pair of half sections maintained assembled by a sleeve, if desired, and the multiple sets then placed in a larger box for shipment of larger quantities of articles.